greg said:
It's easy to say this but have you really considered it? Would you really give your job up if you thought it was best for your child?
If you dont need two incomes how can you conclude your child is better off in a nursery full time than at the most part time?
Their early years disappear in the blink of an eye and them having a "comfortable" lifestyle is no relacement for time with Mum and/or Dad.
Without a shadow of a doubt - sending him (and more recently his little sister) to nursery from an early age bothered me a lot until I saw how he was developing, how happy he was/is and how his social skills are.
Maybe part time at nursery is the ultimate - it surely must be better than no time at nursery (and this comes from someone who never went to nursery).
I would love a part time contract and I know the other half plans to work no more than 4 days a week once she buys into a practice. When that happens then I guess the children may well reduce nursery time.
As it is, we try to give them quality time at weekends and before/after work. How I would get on looking after them full time I don't know - I can say that after a busy/demanding weekend with young children, it is sometimes a relief to get back to work!
I think there is also something in
when you start them at nursery - I've seen 1 or 2 year olds being dropped off for the first time and having a head fit. Our two went there are soon as the wife's maternity leave ended (3 or 4 months old) so it has always been normal to them.
So, I'd say that if you have a decent nursery then sending kids there full time is not a problem. They can give so much to children - all kinds of activities no matter how messy, group activities plus they are fully qualified to do the job and that's all they have to worry about (unlike many parents looking after kids at home I'd suggest).
I've also heard tell that primary school teachers can immediately spot the ones who have attended nursery as they have a head start in both learning and social skills.
I'd advocate all pre school kids spending
some of their time at nursery. I can't state that full time is best but if my happy, well developing little souls are anything to go by it can work very well indeed.
I wouldn't criticise parents for deciding not to send their kids to nursery (although I would point out the benefits a decent nursery can offer) but, similarly, I get a little annoyed if those same people try to enforce their beliefs on me by suggesting that sending kids to nursery full time is a bad thing - what they are saying is that they are better at raising kids than qualified nursery staff and that looks somewhat arrogant in black and white.
You know, we're not talking about boarding school here - we're talking about enstrusting your kids and their welfare to qualified, decent people (just as you have to with schools) and then ensuring that the time you do spend with them is of the highest quality.
Matt.